


The Wistful One

by star_named_andy



Series: Paws-itivity [7]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit (Video Games), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animal Transformation, BardXThranduil, Barduil - Freeform, M/M, cat!Bard, thranduilxbard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-18 06:45:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4696127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/star_named_andy/pseuds/star_named_andy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bard's situation is more than complicated and Thranduil has been stressed plenty by it already, but Thranduil isn't the only one with the burden of the curse weighing down on him. Everyone will be sweating it out, especially when it becomes clear that time is their combatant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wistful One

**Author's Note:**

> (Disclaimer: I do not own the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, or any of its characters or content.)

When Thranduil finally left the house, he was sent off with waves and smiles from both Legolas and Bard…it was unsettling. Why the hell was _Bard_ smiling? He’d been pissy toward Thranduil for most of the day because he was leaving him behind, and there he was _smiling_. It was terribly suspicious, but he had to _let it go_ and _breathe_. Bard was finally out of his hair for a bit, literally, and if the two got into any trouble, Legolas would have to handle it and that was that.

He departed far earlier than he needed to, but he decided making a stop before meeting with Meludir would serve his best interests.

 He was a man on a mission, stalking toward the pet shop where all of his newfound troubles began. He made a hasty entrance and saw the other employee Thranduil met upon his day there…Radagast? Something like that. He was surrounded by a few children who ogled at him and the exotic looking bird on his arm with awestruck eyes. Radagast smiled at them and cooed to the bird as he pet its head and the children giggled, but once Radagast looked up and saw Thranduil standing there in the doorway, his face went blank.

“O-Oh, j-just a moment there, sir! One moment!” he called and the kids all turned to observe Thranduil for a moment as Radagast tucked the bird back into its cage. Once the door was closed, Radagast muttered something to the kids, pointing them in the direction of the aquatic selection, and they all went running excitedly toward the tanks.

Radagast shuffled toward Thranduil, who must have looked more menacing than he thought, given by Radagast’s nervous expression and his restless hands fidgeting together.

“Hello, sir. You were in the other day, if I recall. Is there something I can help you with?” he asked.

“Is Gandalf in?” Thranduil spoke and Radagast nodded quickly.

“Yes, yes. I’ll fetch him for you!”

Thranduil moved further into the shop, planting his hand onto the counter and leaning there as he waited for Gandalf to emerge from the office. He spied a card taped to the countertop that read: “HAPPINESS GUARANTEED!” with a picture of an ecstatic looking Gandalf surrounded by kittens.

Thranduil heard a door open and turned to meet eyes with the old man. When the Gandalf saw him, he was smiling. _Everyone and their goddamn annoying smiles_. God, was he bitter lately.

“Mr. Greenleaf, hello again!” he greeted.

“What kind of business are you running here?” Thranduil sneered and the clerk blinked at him, but then nodded with an understanding grin.

“Ah, so you’ve met the _true_ Bard, have you? Come, let us discuss in my office where we’ll have more privacy.”

Thranduil followed close behind Gandalf and watched Radagast watching him as he left the office and meandered toward the aquatic collection. Gandalf gestured for the blonde to enter first, and so he did, and Gandalf closed the door behind them so their secrets may remain so.

“Have a seat, Mr. Greenleaf, by all means.” Gandalf offered.

“I do not want to sit.” Thranduil said firmly in reply and Gandalf shrugged, sitting himself.

“You look very stressed. Is there a problem?”

“I could sue you for what you’ve done, and then you and whatever _creatures_ you have here would be fucked, I’d make sure of it.” Thranduil threatened, but Gandalf didn’t seem fazed.

“Bard is one of a kind. There are no others here like him, nor have there been in the past. He’s the only one I’ve ever met.”

“My statement still stands.”

“Has he really been so awful?” Gandalf chuckled as he reclined in his chair. “He can get a bit rowdy, but he is no demon.”

“I beg to differ, but his constant pestering me isn’t my upmost concern; it’s the fact that he is _not human,_ that he has had trouble with dark, mystical beings in the past, and that I’m his supposed ‘ _one’_ who has to help him find his children and break his curse. Did you really think I would take such news lightly? My son, perhaps, but not I. I am not so easily convinced into partaking in such shenanigans.”

“Oh really? It’s you after all, he said?”

“Yes, but he didn’t seem very certain. He’s basing it all off of dreams and feelings – nonsense, basically.”

“So you are the one…and you told him no?”

“Well…no. I said yes, actually.” Thranduil muttered and cleared his throat.

“Oh, I see.” Gandalf said and his smirk made Thranduil grind his teeth.  “Don’t tell me you want to back out on him. He’d be heartbroken.”

“But what about _my life?_ ”

“What about his?”

“It’s not my responsibility.” The blonde snapped. “Dreams and feelings don’t validate such a thing! That’s utter ridiculousness! It’s all imaginary!” Thranduil exclaimed, heat rising in his voice.

“Once one is cursed, they are not handed instructions on how to undo the curse. His dreams and his feelings are all he has to go on, no matter how vivid or unclear they may be. If you will not help him, bring him back so he may find another before it’s too late.” Gandalf spoke in a more serious tone.

Thranduil groaned, arguing with himself. What was he to do? Back down from his promise? He could bring Bard back to the shop, never return, never look back, go back to life as normal…but oh, how his conscience would hate him for it. In truth, life would never really be restored to what it was before Bard, because how could Thranduil ever forget such a creature?

Shock therapy, maybe.

“So I’m to blindly lead Bard, myself, and possibly _my son_ into a bizarre, dangerous chase?”

“It seems so.”

“Where do you propose I start this quest?” Thranduil questioned flatly with a long sigh following.

There went his chance to dump Bard. He was _really_ stuck now.

“You must start with Bard .I only know what he has shared with me, which may not be everything. My part in Bard’s journey is over. Now it is your turn to step up and get him through this, not as a leader, but as a companion. Remember, _you_ are the key to his freedom – for what reason, none of us are sure, but he needs you. You must work _together_ , and I suggest you work with haste.”

“I want this over and done with just as much as he does.” Thranduil said and started toward the door. Gandalf stood also, following the man all the way to the front entrance.

“You know, I think he may just be right about you being the one.” Gandalf said with a wag of his finger and a twinkle in his eye.

“What makes you say that?” Thranduil asked dryly.

“You will create a _balance_.”

“…He said you got him out of a bad place.”

“Indeed, I did.”

“What does that mean? How exactly did you end up with him?”

“I heard strange stories about the underground from my fellow animal lovers around the city– people were pitting animals against each other, and people, too. We were more concerned about the animals, seeing as they aren’t making the conscious decision to partake in such things. We did some snooping, broke up the rings, sent the animals off to various shelters. Bard was in my lot, and I was very surprised when one day he was suddenly human. He told me his name and his story, and so every day I hoped that the right customer would come to bring him salvation…years later, here we are.”

“And he had an owner; did he know about Bard – what he is?”

“He did; he thought because Bard was special he could conquer anyone, animal or human. He was very wrong about that.”

Thranduil stared intensely at the man. Part of him wanted there to be no more lies and secrets and only clarity, but another part of him desperately wanted this part of Bard’s history to be untrue. Despite what he wanted, he could sense that what Gandalf was saying was fact. He thought of the scars he felt and saw on Bard’s stomach in his cat form, how they looked on his mortal skin…

“Now you see why the clause against neutering is so important!” Gandalf laughed, breaking the silence between them, and Thranduil nodded, dumbstruck. “Farewell, Mr. Greenleaf, and good luck.”

They shook hands and Gandalf returned to his shop and Thranduil to his car.

Thranduil pondered the idea of balance; he and Bard were quite opposite. Was that it, an “opposites attract” deal? He pondered it for a moment before starting up his car and taking off.

 

Bringing the sweet, adorable Meludir out to coffee was a wasted effort. He was distracted by fleeting thoughts of Bard and Legolas, but that wasn’t why the date was a flop in his eyes. IIt was clear that they lacked chemistry, that each of them only talked of things the other didn’t grasp, and that Meludir was most definitely treating the elder blonde as eye candy. His hands were never not somewhere on Thranduil, and frankly, it was driving hm insane. Thranduil was not one for excessive public displays of affection, but he also didn’t want to snap at his cute date – he feared there was no other option than snapping if Thranduil brought up the subject because his mentality had not been at its strongest for the past two days, so he kept quiet and endured Meludir’s doting.

Despite all of this, Meludir somehow ended up in Thranduil’s car and was now walking arm-in-arm with him up the walkway to his house. It was probably all of the attractive young man’s advances and enticing words that made the elder blonde cave, along with the fact that the youth had spied the text Thranduil got from Legolas saying he was going to the store.

Legolas hadn’t said that Bard would be accompanying him, but Thranduil knew better. Legolas had taken him along, meaning the house would be empty for a time.

 Perhaps the unlikely pair would have more luck with intimacy, and if not, maybe it would at least be relieving for Thranduil.

“Whoa, your house is _beautiful_!” Meludir spoke as they swept through the threshold. “The outside was amazing, but the inside is even better looking.”

“You haven’t seen all of it yet, and I can think of something even better looking than this house.” Thranduil said with a small smirk as he curled his arm around the small of Meludir’s back and spun him so they were facing each other. Meludir giggled, a pink tint dusting his cheeks and interest in his eyes.

“What is it?” he asked, twirling a piece of platinum hair around his finger.

“I’ll give you a hint: it’s something in the house.”

“Oh, it _must_ be you, then!” Meludir said with a false, coy grin and let his hand slid down Thranduil’s chest and to his thigh, brushing his fingers teasingly against the blonde’s groin.

“I’m flattered, but no. It happens to be you I’m referring to.” Thranduil spoke, his tone as utterly composed as his expression, masking the flames of arousal stirring within him.

“You seem to be in a much more comfortable now that we’re alone.” The young brunette whispered, batting his lashes as he massaged Thranduil through his trousers. “Will you give me the grand tour?”

“I’m not sure I’ll have to. You seem eager to get cozy right here.”

“I’m very eager. We can start here and then make our way to your room. How does that sound?”

“Sounds like I’ll be having a beautiful creature in my bed.”

“YEAH, IT’S _ME_ , YOU ASSHOLE!”

Thranduil froze completely.

If time was standing still and he could manipulate the situation at hand and prevent all that was about to unfold, he would be ever so grateful, but he wasn’t so lucky to have something _that_ obscure happen. No, the only obscure things he was fortunate to happen upon were magical cat-man-things, one of which was evidently still in his house.

His eyes were wide, staring at Meludir who was looking past him at what Thranduil was afraid to turn around and see.

“Uhhm,” was the only utterance that came from Meludir before removing his hands from Thranduil and glaring up into his gaze. “Who is that?”

“I can explain everything,” was probably not the best way to start off a sentence, but that’s what came out of his mouth. Before he could spill out excuses about why there was a cat-man in his house, Bard bellowed out again.

“I’M THE ONE WHO SLEPT IN HIS BED WITH HIM LAST NIGHT, THAT’S WHO THE HELL I AM!”

Thranduil whipped around with absolutely nothing in mind to say, ready to just scream out all of his stress right then and there, but when he saw Bard, nothing came out of him at all. Though the situation was hell, he almost felt entirely relieved at seeing Bard was wearing a baseball cap and his tail was nowhere in sight. _Hidden, thank god_! That was one less portion of this problem he had to fret over.

“Sorry, Thranduil, but I’m not looking to be a third party. Call me if you’re ever _single_.”

With a flip of his hair, Meludir was out the door. Thranduil called after him and offered him a ride, but he insisted on getting himself a cab, so Thranduil closed the door and slumped against it, staring up at Bard. Neither of them said anything for a moment, and as Thranduil saw Bard’s face getting redder, he decided he’d be the first to speak.

“What. The hell. Was THAT?” he demanded in a searing voice and Bard snorted at his apparent anger.

“I could ask you the same question!” Bard lashed and Thranduil gaped at him.

“You’re honestly blaming me for your psychotic outburst?”

“Yeah, I guess I am!”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, _can’t I?_ You’re always telling me what I can’t do and you’re supposed to be helping me! Instead you’re out frolicking with horny teenagers!”

“Like you’re any different than a horny teenager, and I’ll have you know he’s in his twenties. It’s not even any of your business!”

“And you’re what? Forty?”

“You’re acting like a child.”

“You don’t know what it’s like to see you like that!”

“Excuse me, but we are _not_ married! We’re not even _together_ , and you don’t even actually live here! You have no place to be yelling at me or anyone else I bring into _my_ home! Even if I am your ‘one’ to breaking this motherfucking curse of yours, I am not obligated to love you! I had the chance to back out on you today and I guess I should have!”

“I’M LEAVING THEN!”

Bard stomped down the stairs and zoomed past Thranduil. He grabbed the door, yanked it open, and didn’t even bother to shut it before storming down the path to the driveway.

Thranduil heaved an infuriated sigh and cursed under his breath, marching out to follow Bard and catch him before he got too far.

“Wait!” he beckoned. Bard didn’t even look in his direction. “I said _wait_ , Bard!”

“Shut the fuck up! Leave me alone!”

The blonde halted, taken aback by such a sharp words coming from Bard’s tongue. Even for not knowing him very long, it seemed unlike Bard to be so brash.

“Hold on,” Thranduil pleaded in as kind a voice as he could manage, but it was not enough to sway the ill-tempered brunette.

Thranduil rushed forward and snatched him by the wrist before he could reach the road and run off into the woods, where Thranduil would probably never find him. Bard _hissed_ at him while bearing his sharp teeth, and Thranduil swatted his nose.

“HEY!” Bard cried and swiped at Thranduil, but the blonde was quick and caught his hand.

“If you’re going to act like a cat, I’ll treat you like one.”

“I don’t have a choice, and I’m not going to stay here and be your house pet!” Bard protested with tears welling up in his eyes. He struggled, trying to pull both of his arms free, but Thranduil had too strong of a hold for him to escape.

“Shh, stop it! Just stop! I didn’t mean what I said about leaving you and I’m _sorry_.”

Thranduil wrapped his arms around Bard, held him in a tight embrace, and found that he was no longer being fought against. Bard kept still for a long moment before resting his forehead on Thranduil’s shoulder and hugging back.

“You mean it.” Bard said hushedly and Thranduil gave a short nod.

“I do.”

Thranduil lifted the baseball cap from Bard’s head and his ears twitched. Thranduil smiled very softly and ran his hand over his dark curls. Bard’s ears flattened almost timidly as Thranduil leaned down and smelled the top of his head while still running his fingers along the back tresses.

“So you did shower. That’s better. You hair is softer, smells nicer.” Thranduil commented and then pressed a gently kiss to his head. Bard’s ears instantly spiked and when the blonde looked down, Bard was blushing deeply. “Let’s go inside and you can tell me what this is all about.”

 

The two sat opposite each other on the living room couch silently, both simmering down from their emotional yelling match. Thranduil kept shifting his gaze from the blank television screen to Bard, who was staring at the blanket on his lap and fiddling with the tassels on the end. He was patient, but even after waiting for over ten minutes, Bard hadn’t made a peep.

“Would you like something from the kitchen?” the blonde spoke up and Bard shook his head before leaning it on one of the cushions. “Are you ready to talk?” Thranduil flinched back as a hand was shoved in his face.  “What does that mean? No?”

“This is me talking.” Bard said flatly and waved his fingers.

The backside of his hand faced Thranduil and the man stared at it, analyzing it for something notable. He shook his head with a sigh.

“I don’t get it. Is this a cat thing?”

“It _is_ a cat thing!” Bard lunged forward and put his hand so close to Thranduil’s face that his fingers brushed against his nose. “I cut my nails and this is what happened!”

“Your-?”

Thranduil took the brunette’s wrist gently and moved it back a few inches to get a good focus. He looked directly at Bard’s nails and furrowed his brows: they were a nasty sight, longer than he remembered them being and each of them jaggedly shaped. Once Bard knew Thranduil was finally seeing what he wanted him to see, he jerked his hand away and looked down at grimly.

“I tried…I’m sorry.” He said, voice broken.

“It’s fine.” Thranduil spoke calmly with a nod, even though he was itching to criticize the brunette. They were at good standing and he wanted to keep it that way no matter how ridiculous Bard’s reasoning for his episode was. “It’s an easy fix. I will do it for you.”

“Thranduil,” Bard cut in with panic rising in his voice, but Thranduil quickly spoke again.

“ _Stop worrying_. It’s okay.”

“It isn’t fine, this is not good!”

“I’ll just show you how to trim them properly.”

“It’s not that I don’t know how to do it right!”

“Keep calm. There’s no need to get upset over it.”

“There’s every need!” Bard shouted and stood. He swiped the nail cutters from the coffee table beside the couch and Thranduil watched closely as he clipped. _Click_ , and then quiet.

Silence consumed the moment and Thranduil waited; for what, he had no idea. He was staring so intensely that when Bard wailed, Thranduil jumped. It was a most disparaging noise the blonde had ever heard and he swore that at hearing it, his heart shuddered with both sympathy and heavy concern. He rose from the couch in a flash, closing his arms around Bard as he started to crumple. He collapsed right into the embrace, the clippers fell to the floor, and Thranduil sat Bard down. The brunette sobbed into his chest, mumbling inaudible, incoherent sentences spitting out of his mouth too fast for Thranduil to even try to comprehend.

“Bard, why?” Thranduil uttered.

To his surprise, Bard lifted himself, his reddened, tear-ridden face exposed. He still stayed within Thranduil’s arms as he lifted his hand and whispered: “ _Watch_.”

Thranduil did as he was instructed and watched the hand that trembled in front of him, most especially the fingernail that had been cut. There was some obvious significance to it, and the mortal man knew just what it was when he witnessed it with his own two eyes.

The uneven edge of the nail that had been trimmed was growing at a remarkable, _impossible_ rate! Thranduil was _watching_ as its length doubled, then tripled, and finally ceased.

“That’s what keeps happening.” Bard spoke up, his voice hoarse and sullen. “This is serious and I can’t do anything to change it…I don’t know what to do…”

Thranduil shook off his awe; Bard transformed from a cat, after all. This could hardly be deemed unusual, right?

“What does this mean?” Thranduil questioned, his attention still glued to the fingernail that had sprouted tall like a magical weed. Something clicked in his brain and he turned abruptly, taking Bard by the shoulders and looking deep into his golden eyes.

 “If there’s anything you didn’t tell me about the curse, you need to tell me _now_.”

“This curse is trying to swallow me whole and keep me purely feline forever. It’s like a slow poison. I have holes in my memories from things I’ve forgotten, thing I’ve experienced, things I used to know how to do. I do things without thinking, without control – earlier when I hissed at you, it just…came out. I barely eve noticed…it’s dragging me under. I fear that every time I return to cat form, I will never be human ever again, and one day I won’t have human consciousness, thoughts, memories… _nothing_. I will be gone forever. Just your regular, average street cat.” He spoke, his eyes cold, bitter, _wistful_.

Bard was a withering entity, one day to never return. A human life _gone_. Simply vanished.

“Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?” Thranduil snapped angrily; his tone was not of pure ire, but of worry. Bard tried to scoot away, but Thranduil held him closer, taking the wide-eyed brunette’s breath straight away. “Bard! You need to tell me every detail if we are supposed to be doing this together. Do you not realize how important information like this is?”

“I don’t like to think about it and nothing had happened in a while, so I…I don’t know. I just didn’t want to remind myself.” Bard said sheepishly, his ears flat against his head.

“You _need_ to remind yourself. That’s how you’re going to fight this until we get rid of the curse for good. How long has this been happening? How long do you have?”

“It’s been happening since day one, and well…I don’t know when my last human day will be my last.”

“Dammit!” Thranduil stood and began to pace about the living room, driving his fingers back through his hair incessantly. He stopped, only to turn and direct Bard again. “What am I supposed to do? Tell me what to do.”

“Find my kids, and then we face Smaug.”

“Where? How?”

“Uhm…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what? Which thing?”

“Both.”

“How am I supposed to beat the clock when you don’t even know where your children are, or where this DRAGON Smaug is, or how exactly I’m supposed to rid you of this curse?!”

“I DON’T KNOW! I TOLD YOU I CAN’T REMEMBER THINGS! I’M THE ONE LOSING HERE, NOT YOU!” Bard yelled as he rose.

“You really think I don’t care about losing you?!” Thranduil lashed back and with a long stride, he became nearly nose to nose with Bard.

The brunette gasped and fell back toward the couch in shock of how deeply the blonde had invaded his personal space. He caught his balance, and just after that, Thranduil caught him and yanked him in close.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Bard stammered, cheeks flushed crimson.

“Answer the question.”

“What?”

“Do you really think I don’t care about losing you?”

“Sometimes I’m not sure.”

“I can’t blame you for that, but now you don’t need to be unsure. Understand?”

Bard nodded mutely and flinched, but then relaxed as Thranduil pressed their foreheads together. Their noses brushed. Bard shivered as he felt the blonde’s sweet breath beat down on his lips. Bard gave a relaxed sigh that sounded more like a purr and nuzzled his cheek against Thranduil’s. Once they faced each other again, Bard gave a subtle smile and Thranduil’s warm, soft hands rested on his jaw, his thumbs rubbing at the hook of it.

“Let us stop fighting and be peaceful. I like it much more when we are…like this.” Thranduil spoke delicately, not wanting his voice to disturb the tranquility of the moment.

“Yes, so do I.” Bard said.

The blonde let his head drift slowly forward and Bard’s hands quivered as they grabbed Thranduil’s wrists. He pulled himself closer, wanting so badly to fully close the space between them, but as if broken from a spell, Thranduil jolted back. Bard heard it too, his ear twitching as the front door opened and Legolas’ voice carried back to them: “Bard, I’m back! And I’ve got treats for you to try! Let’s gobble them up before dad gets home!”

**Author's Note:**

> Now we know much more about Bard than before, eh? ;) Hope you all enjoyed! I updated pretty quickly, but my next chapter may be a bit slow seeing as I'm pulling this all out of my butt as I'm going along...~~ 
> 
> See you soon!


End file.
